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Need some help making almond flour

03-28-2013, 05:02 PM

I've already seached here and on the internet, but I just need direct advice from someone who's done this to tell me what to do.
I wanted to make Mark's recipe for Primal Pizza, which calls for almond flour. Didn't want to pay the big bucks, plus I had a big bag of raw whole almonds in the pantry. So I tried making it myself.
I didn't blanch them, so I know technically I just got almond meal. I use a Kitchenaid food processor and the regular blade. The pieces got very small, but still too granular to be flour. I was hesitant to keep grinding because I didn't want to end up with almond butter. I ended up using 2 cups of this meal to make the pizza dough, spread it thinner than suggested, but it was still too dense to my liking and after a few pieces of the pizza, I just ate the topping and threw the crust outside to the wildlife.
1) should I only have used blanched almonds?
2) should I have just kept running the processor?
3) should I use a different appliance?
4) should I have toasted the almonds to dry them out a bit?
5) I bought coconut flour for another recipe, should I just use that instead and if so, how much is equivalent?
I can get whole raw almonds for a reasonable price, so am willing to keep testing.
Thanks for any help.

"Just give me all the bacon and eggs you have. Wait, wait. I'm worried what you just heard was, 'Give me a lot of bacon and eggs.' What I said was, 'Give me all the bacon and eggs you have'. Do you understand?" - Ron Swanson

Blanched almonds will likely turn into a paste. I only use almond flour I have purchased.

BUT...

I don't like almond flour pizza crust. It just doesn't taste right. I use a cheese pizza crust (like Nancyelle's) or make one from a wet blend of white rice flour, sweet rice flour, olive oil, and water.

Comment

I've made my own almond flour by using a food processor with unblanched almonds.
The granules were about sand size and they worked fine for my bread.
It could just be the recipe? I wouldn't expect primal crust to taste just like pizza crust from Pizza Hut

Blanched almonds will likely turn into a paste. I only use almond flour I have purchased.
BUT...
I don't like almond flour pizza crust. It just doesn't taste right. I use a cheese pizza crust (like Nancyelle's) or make one from a wet blend of white rice flour, sweet rice flour, olive oil, and water.

Ok! I looked up Nancyelle's cheese crust pizza and it looks really good! I think that will be a superior solution to an almond or coconut flour crust. Thank you!

I've made my own almond flour by using a food processor with unblanched almonds.
The granules were about sand size and they worked fine for my bread.
It could just be the recipe? I wouldn't expect primal crust to taste just like pizza crust from Pizza Hut

My almond meal granules were also kind of sandy, so I guess I was making the meal right, I just didn't do the crust right. I think I'll try almond flour/meal in one of the many primal/paleo bread recipes, and I'll try the cheese crust above for the next time I make pizza. Thank you!

"Just give me all the bacon and eggs you have. Wait, wait. I'm worried what you just heard was, 'Give me a lot of bacon and eggs.' What I said was, 'Give me all the bacon and eggs you have'. Do you understand?" - Ron Swanson

Comment

I too want to find a good paleo pizza crust! I've tried twice now, but both times were less than thrilling. The first time I used almond flour/meal and tapioca flour, it was thick and airy like a cake - not horrible but not what I would want for pizza. The 2nd was with coconut flour, which stayed flat but crumbled so you couldn't lift it (might need longer cooking time or more eggs to make it firmer). One note about almond flour is that it is very dense in fat so that could be why you didn't like it. Some recipes have a combination of almond and coconut flour. I liked the coconut flour but the texture needed some improvement. I like a lot of eggs and they can add elasticity and firmness so I plan to increase the amount of eggs next.

I also made a meatza once, but I used low quality ground beef which made us fart (wtf are they putting in that stuff?) so I am hesitant to try again with that, and can't afford better beef atm. Have yet to try the cheese crust, I imagine it's good...

Comment

I've never had good luck making almond flour, it always come out very grainy, and I've tried several different food processors and even a coffee grinder. I don't buy it very often, but when I do I buy the blanched Honeyville brand almond flour from their website. Actually they're having a really good sale right now, everything is 20%. I know you said you are willing to keep trying to grind it yourself, but for certain recipes the really fine stuff works best. Just my two cents.

Another kind of pizza crust you could try is made from eggplant. I know, sounds sort of weird, and I thought it would be horrible the first time I made it, but it is by far the best crust I have made yet for primal pizza. It can be a bit of a time consuming process, so I don't make it very often, but it is very good.

I chop up and food process an entire eggplant, squeeze out as much of the liquid as I can, mix in an egg, seasonings and a little cheese, and press and spread it out 1/4 inch thick on a pan lined with parchment paper. Cook until the eggplant begins to brown, then pull the pan out and flip the crust over and brush with an egg white wash. Pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes and pull it out, top it with whatever you want, and back in the oven it goes one last time until your toppings are hot. Like I said, it can be time consuming, but it's worth it.